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Mistral Balinese Vanilla EDP Perfume Review

Mistral Balinese Vanilla perfume is a rich, creamy, woody oriental fragrance with spices, resins, and woods. Oh, and lots of vanilla. This fragrance is inspired by exotic Indonesian spice markets. Balinese Vanilla is a vanilla fragrance, but it is spicier than most. I think of it as more of a spice fragrance with vanilla than a vanilla fragrance with spice.

I like creamy orientals. I get a “liquid” amber at first. Immediately afterwards, Mistal Balinese Vanilla gets spicy, but it isn’t the type of spice you’d find in your kitchen. It’s a floral spice from geranium. This spice is mixed in a vanilla liqueur. There’s something fruity there, like raspberry, cherries, and vanilla liqueur. The raspberry isn’t prominent on me and goes away fairly quickly. A few minutes after it arrives, Balinese Vanilla turns into something like a white chocolate cherry cordial with patchouli. Within the next 15 minutes, I get more spice. Now this is gourmet spice. I get clove, nutmeg, allspice. But, this isn’t all Old Spice. This is mixed with lots creamy vanilla and tonka bean yumminess, like caramel. It’s like a creme brulée with patchouli, sandalwood, and sweet amber. These woods and resins are what keeps Balinese Vanilla from being too gourmand. Balinese Vanilla is sweet but I don’t want to eat it; I want it to be wrapped around me like a shawl. This is a very rich and comforting fragrance. And sweet, very sweet. Because of this, I find it nice for fall and winter wear. Or a home candle 🙂

As far as an “exotic Balinese spice market”, I don’t know. I’ve never been. But, I’ve always imagined a Balinese spice market being hotter, more pepper, saffron, lemon grass, none of that is in Balinese Vanilla. Balinese Vanilla is sweet and works with “comfort” spices. It’s more setting in front of the fire in the dead of winter dreaming about being at an Indonesian spice market on vacation than actually being at a hot, humid Indonesian spice market.

Mistral Balinese Vanilla isn’t a mind-blowing oriental fragrance, but it is likable. There are so many epic oriental fragrances out there, so it’s difficult to be mind-blowing. I do think that Mistral Balinese Vanilla is done well if you are looking for a sweet oriental and for a $50 perfume. It’s rich and sweet and the spices and woods add interest to this fragrance. It’s sweet but sheer, it isn’t syrupy. This wears more like an EDT on me than an EDP. It’s interesting because when I tested this in warmer weather, it was spicier. When I tested it in the dead of winter, it was creamier, more vanilla and the patchouli was very prominent.

I know the packaging is very feminine, but I know some guys that can work this type of spicy vanilla fragrance. I also see Mistral Balinese Vanilla layering nicely with other fragrance. It could add a creamy spicy vanilla element to any fragrance. It could work well with earthy, woodsy scents.

I was recently on vacation in Pacifica,CA and discovered the Balinese Vanilla Soap by Mistral. Fell in love and of course started searching for lotion and perfume. Couldn’t find any lotion but indeed found the perfume. This is a clean yet sensual and understated sexy scent. Since I would rather wear nothing than wear a cheap perfume I was delighted to find this. It smells like it should cost at least $200, no exaggeration. Love, love, love this fragrance.